Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta says national identity card registration would provide appropriate population data for effective national planning. The governor stated this on Monday while speaking at a function to mark the maiden National Identity Day in Asaba. “I am glad that we have a national identity day, and that Sept. 16 of every year has been set aside for the celebration. “It is my prayer that as a country, we are going to walk the talk. “It is not just enough to have a day set aside; it is about the passion and commitment of everybody involved to ensure that it works for us. “We know that getting Nigerians to register with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is very important to us as a country,” he said.

Okowa added:“Proper documentation will facilitate all kinds of planning, because the greatest challenge we have as a nation is planning. “We can only do properly when we have the figures right; most times, we use projections because various demography needed for planning are not in place.

“It is also very important, and concerning issues of intelligence and security, I think that this makes it very key for us as a nation for everybody to support this course and ensure that it is not a one-day advocacy.

“Security challenges will be curbed by the time we are able to have Nigerians properly registered and documented.’’

He urged the Federal Government to ensure that every Nigerian is registered.

“This is because from the statistics, we have just about 20 per cent of Nigerians registered with NIMC, which is still a very far cry from what we deserve.

“So, I hope that this recognition and this day will ensure that we put everything in place so that when we celebrate the second anniversary, we will be talking about registration figure that is encouraging.

“I commend you (NIMC) for the work you have done; you need a lot of advocacy.

“We will try to take it through the social media, through the press, through the political class, and I believe that will certainly make it impact more,” he said.

The State’s NIMC Coordinator, Ms Henrietta Okolo, said that over 36 million Nigerians have been registered nationwide with about one million persons registered in Delta.

“We are celebrating the national identity day in our special way in Delta.

“From the records, we have so far enrolled over 36 million Nigerians nationwide.

“In Delta, we have enrolled about one million persons which is a far cry from the population of the state and we need to do more.

“We are encouraging every Nigerian to go to the nearest enrolment centre and get enrolled for life; it is free and everybody is meant to do it,” she said..

However, Coyne said that the COVID-19pandemic forced them to alter their plan. “For instance, some of the objects were from international lenders, so we have had to replace them with facsimile.”

“That’s a bit disappointing, but the great thing is we are actually able to make them much larger and brighter so people can actually get a closer look at some of the objects,” she added.

Expanding on the often one-sided narrative associated with the Endeavour story, this new exhibition honors both Cook’s great voyage of scientific and geographic exploration and the rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture that has thrived in Australia for at least 65,000 years.

On the wall there are artworks by indigenous artists from a small community south of the Cooktown. According to Coyne, after ship Endeavor crashed into the Great Barrier Reef, local residents then went to the beach, picked up drift-woods and created artworks on top of them.

“So some of these pieces might have been bits of the ship that had splintered off and washed up on the bay,” she said.

A purple piece depicted the coral, while another showed the scene of the ship. “And then there are some botanical specimens as well,” said Coyne.

On the other side of the wall there showed places named after the event, from Cook Place to Endeavor Street. “The voyage has been remembered and recorded in place names and in monuments,” said the curator.

There are interactive games designed to attract visitors. While people are still concerned about the COVID-19, measures were taken to ensure their safety.

A labyrinth game simulated Cook’s sailing through the Great Barrier Reef, which was like a maze. Visitors could use a wheel to get a ball through the maze to the other side.

“We have installed the hand sanitizer, so whenever you use an interactive, you can clean your hands before and afterwards, and then have fun with the activities we’ve created,” she said.

“Actually we have a task force go around each one of the interactive activities and make sure we had certain measures in place,” Coyne said, noting that at the drawing station, all the pencils are for single use only and visitors could take them home.

She told Xinhua that the museum also used a booking system to control the number of people allowed into the exhibition space.

Garrett Turtill found out about the exhibition online while staying at home during the restrictions. When he learned that the museum was to open to public again, he registered for the exhibition.

“It was really easy, very quick,” said the 70-year-old man. “You just get a ticket on your phone, and you bring it in and they wave you through.”

Turtill said he was excited both to be out of doors and to be at the exhibition. “I am very interested in early maritime exploration around Australia,” he said.

“And I am satisfied with the museum’s measures as well as local government’s handling of coronavirus. That’s why I felt confident to come out to the exhibition.”

According to the original plan, the exhibition will run until this October. But the museum said it might extend it until early next year.

The commissioner said that Umahi had observed that over 80 per cent of traders and buyers did not use face masks, hand sanitisers or washed their hands in running water.

“Government will have no option than to shut the market for any form of business transaction if violations of the COVID-19 protocols continue,” he warned.

The commissioner said the governor also observed with dismay that traders were chased from the market at an unauthorised period while market leaders collected N50 from each of them to allow them into the market.

“All forms of illegal levies collections must cease and ‘marketers’ are free to conduct their daily activities anytime they wish-to.

“Government has equally observed that business activities have re-commenced at the old Abakapa Market and we hereby remind everyone that the old market was designated as a residential area.

“No form of sales or business transaction should be conducted at the entire location as any one found opening shops other than residential reasons, shall be arrested forthwith,” he said.

“All tourism activities within the protected areas shall be undertaken in a manner that ensures all guidelines of the ministry of health and the directives of His Excellency the President are adhered to,” the statement said.

The UWA said primate parks, however, remain closed to the public until further notice.

The conservation agency said there will be mandatory temperature screenings of tourists at all the key gates of the protected areas. Hand sanitizing and social distancing will be adhered to in vehicles and boats in the parks.

Large groups exceeding 25 tourists shall not be permitted in the parks at the same time for the same activity, according to the UWA.

‘Abe-Igi’ to wear new look – National Theatre management

Management of the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, says plans are in top gear to give Abe-Igi, the popular open bar and restaurant within the facility, a new look.The Spokesperson of the National Theatre, Steph Ogundele, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the step was to make the place, noted for artistes’ convergence and public rendezvous, more attractive. Ogundele said that upon completion, Abe-Igi would not only wear a new look, but will also be totally rebranded. “It is part of the management’s plan towards a post-Covid-19 market development. “The lockdown has created a good opportunity for us to attend to some proposals, the first and major concluded one being the rebranding of Abe-Igi, which will take off after the total ease of the lockdown. “We have to take this bold step, because we want to upgrade the place by making it more attractive to artistes and users of the complex,” he said. Ogundele, however, said that nothing had been put before the management of the theatre concerning the proposed facelift of the main edifice by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). “In this regard, no information has come to us till date. We heard about it last year November, just like you also did. So we are waiting to be officially informed,” he said. According to him, the management will remain committed to bringing necessary measures to bear in order to make the environment more comfortable for users of the Abe-Igi and facilities.

“The fact that Chinese physicians and scientists felt a responsibility to publish everything, even the bad results, helped many people around the world and saved lives,” said Ben-Yehuda.

China shared the initial information about the virus DNA with all other countries so that every one of them could work on vaccines and treatments. This kind of collaboration should continue for the benefit of all humankind, according to the professor.

There are approximately eight main directions taken to work out a vaccine for COVID-19. Such a variety of possibilities increased the odds of finding the right way to the desired result, according to Zimhony.

“The major game-changer to overcome this pandemic is vaccine development,” Zimhony said, who believes that the first clinical implications of the intense vaccine research will be available in six months.

“It seems there is no proper treatment for COVID-19 disease patients, and the only effective global cure would be a vaccine,” she noted.

The biggest challenge in the work, according to Regev-Yochay, is to find a completely safe vaccine for everybody and a reliable way to deliver it to all kinds of people with different health situations.

“We need to be very cautious with vaccines. It’s much more complicated than clinical trials with the drugs,” stressed Regev-Yochay.

Many COVID-19 patients don’t have symptoms or have mild ones, “so we need to make sure we don’t inject them with vaccines, drugs, or chemicals that could do more harm than good,” she said.

International sharing of information could help researchers compare the effectiveness of different vaccines and speed up the progress of the development.

Among the vaccine challenges is also its mass production for the use of all of humanity, which calls for global cooperation.

“We need to vaccinate billions of people around the globe. Better to do it before the upcoming winter to prevent the dangerous effect of dual infection of influenza and COVID-19,” said Zimhony.

Ben-Yehuda said she believes new technologies of computational medicine and international sharing of big data could help create personalized medicine for COVID-19 infection, as the virus affects people differently.

She said the foreign ministry and the country’s missions are continuing to facilitate and assist the Pakistani nationals across the world in order to bring them back to Pakistan safely and in a dignified manner.

“Our embassies and consulates are working round the clock in facilitating repatriation of our citizens back home, in accordance with a comprehensive repatriation plan devised in consultation with all stakeholders,” Farooqui said.

She said a special cell namely the Crisis Management Unit is working at the foreign ministry round the clock with a dedicated team to monitor the phased repatriation of Pakistanis across the globe in the wake of the rising threat of COVID-19.

Buraimoh said that microorganisms interacted with all elements within the environment and affected operations and activities in every field, hence the need for collaboration of other professionals with microbiologists to harness microbial benefits.

She highlighted the need for synergy between engineers and microbiologists, to avert most of the problems of environmental degradation causing building collapse and construction failure.

The lecturer made various illustrations on how microorganisms could cause degeneration of substances, chemical components, facilities and other installations because of the kind of materials disposed in the past on the portion of land.

“Chemically, microorganisms degrade chemicals, plastic or anything.

“Almost 50 per cent of the challenges we have in Nigeria is because we have refused to reckon with microorganisms,” she said.

Buraimoh said that 80 per cent of microorganisms were beneficial to humans if put to the right use, listing some of the areas of benefit to include construction, agriculture, water, health, among others.

She said that the introduction of microorganisms to agricultural sector had improved production more than 60 per cent in Nigeria, without affecting food quality or chemical interference which could cause toxicity.

The guest speaker urged all fields of engineering to collaborate with microbiologists, to assist them in using microorganisms to deal proactively with microbial challenges slowing down innovations.

Buraimoh said that bio wastes were available in huge quality in Nigeria and could be used to produce most chemical inputs, needed locally to reduce importation and dependence on other nations.

She urged governments and other professionals to partner with the academia to commercialise several abandoned viable researches good enough to industrialise Nigeria.

“A sustainable collaboration must take place between the academia and the industries, ministries, governments and policy makers to foster evidence-based policy making.

“To understand how humans and other life forms on earth, including those who we are yet to discover, can withstand an anthropogenic climate change, it is vital to incorporate knowledge of microbial unseen majority.

“Microorganisms affect climate change including production and consumption of greenhouse gases.

“The impact of climate change will depend heavily on response of microorganisms, which are essential for achieving an environmentally-sustainable future,’’ she said.

“Engineer Awoyinfa never became a chairman but we are celebrating him today because he was not looking for power; he focused on how to grow and mentor young engineers.

“Any nation that wants to grow requires engineers who are in every sphere of life solving societal problems,” she said.

Akingbagbohun commended his spouse, Mrs Abimbola Awoyinfa and her children, who had been supportive before and after the passing of the icon in all the series of the lecture.

“ This is the 11th of the series and Pa Awoyinfa enjoyed some of the series even when he was alive and because of the social distancing, we can accommodate only 20 in the hall and the others will have to join us online,’’ she said.

The Ikeja Branch NSE chairman boss challenged young engineers to strive to leave a legacy while highlighting the various efforts of the branch, to ensure commercialisation of researches of some young engineers.